Lords Pass Bill Stripping Hereditary Voting Rights

LONDON — The House of Lords reluctantly passed a bill Wednesday stripping aristocrats who hold inherited seats from voting in the upper chamber of Parliament. But that didn't stop some peers from considering a legal challenge to the plan.

The Lords passed the bill in the early hours after a marathon debate but attached an amendment expressing reservations concerning the Labor government's plan to modernize the 800-year-old nonelected chamber.

Some peers fighting the measure have assembled a legal team to mount a challenge, said Lord Pearson of the opposition Conservative Party.